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Craig Merritt
Craig Merritt is a fictional character from the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by David McLean from 1965-67, and by Harry Lauter in 1966 temporary, Storylines Craig Merritt was a ruggedly handsome airline pilot. Although his career was viewed as exciting and impressed many folks in Salem, he remained a humble family man and a single father. His wife had died years before when their son, Tony, was just fourteen. Because of her death, he and Tony developed a very close bond, and there wasn’t anything Craig wouldn’t do for his son. In 1965, Craig was thrilled that Tony was set to wed Marie Horton on Thanksgiving. Not only was he happy that his son was deeply in love, but Craig had a close relationship the Horton family based on mutual admiration and respect. He and Alice were very close friends. He simply adored Marie. And he tried to help troubled teen Julie, who had a crush on him. Craig was one of the few people who could give Julie advice she would actually take, and the rest of her family appreciated his patience with her. Tragically, the night before the ceremony was set to take place, Craig, as well as Marie and the rest of her family, were blindsided when Tony called things off and abruptly left Salem. Craig was devastated by his son’s puzzling actions, but soon began to focus his attention towards Marie. When Tony left, she fell into a deep depression and tried to commit suicide. After Marie’s attempt, Craig helped her through the dark times. While doing so, they fell in love and married in 1966. Soon after, Craig was delighted when Marie became pregnant. Unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage, causing her to fall into yet another depression. This one was worse, and, not only did Marie avoid intimacy, she began hallucinating the sounds of babies crying. Craig thought he could help Marie through the darkness as he did before, but things had changed. Tony had returned home and told Craig the truth about why called of his marriage to Marie. His son explained that he thought he was dying of a rare blood disease and didn’t want Marie to watch him die, but had since fully recovered. When it became clear that Tony and Marie still loved one another and their reuniting would help Marie, Craig made the ultimate sacrifice for the two people he loved the most. Although he loved her deeply, he told Marie that he didn’t and their relationship was simply based on mutual respect and helping each other through hard times. He also cited their age difference. When Marie tried to apologize for their lack of an intimate connection, he encouraged her that it was not her fault and even offered her alimony and the house. Marie refused both, but the divorce was soon finalized. Afterwards, Craig sold the airstrip he had purchased in order to work out of Salem to be closer to Marie. He also decided to return to piloting and accepted a job that would relocated him to Asia. Marie saw him off the day he departed, but he never revealed his true feelings for her. Instead, after turning away from her, he silently professed his eternal love for her while clutching his wedding ring in his pocket as he walked to his plane. He left Salem that day, never to return. Category:Days of our Lives characters Category:Males Category:Characters of the 1960s